[star rating=”3″] HALLOWEEN. Written and directed by David Gordon Green. Starring Jamie Lee Curtis (basically).
MEGAN FURNISS reviews
This sequel to the very first and most terrifying Halloween, which starred Jamie Lee Curtis as the young woman who narrowly escaped the clutches and blades of a demented killer Michael Myers, is faithful to the original and picks up 30 years later, as if the horrible other sequels in between had never happened.
Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) is now a grandmother, living in a weird, highly secure house, with guns and a special trapdoor to the basement. She is so paranoid and out of control she has a completely damaged relationship with her daughter Karen (Judy Greer) and granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak), who find it difficult to take her paranoia seriously.
Michael Myers is in psychiatric prison. He hasn’t spoken a word for 30 years. But they are moving him. Yes, you guessed it. He’s back in action.
There is much that is faithful to the first and most terrifying Halloween. I loved that Halloween and was utterly frightened by it. (Louvre doored cupboards have never been the same for me since, and they make a return appearance here too). I can’t remember if I ever saw any of the other sequels, but I managed to wipe them out of my mind the minute I saw gran Laurie Strode. If only this movie had given her a better chance at delivering a more rounded, less action driven character. Nope. This is pure slash, and then burn at the end.
Mostly, this Halloween is a gore-fest of epic proportions that spends so much time on the gruesome slaughter of random people we don’t get enough time to build up a relationship with any of the important ones. Two random, over articulate British journos, who look like they may have a contribution to the story? Naah. Slaughter. Random father and young son hunters who have a delicious dialogue about dance class? Annihilated. Random nameless woman in lounge? Also slaughtered. The body count is so high and starts so soon there is little room left for the build-up of proper horror tension. My favourite scene of the movie was between a random baby sitter and her sittee, the cutest, realest kid in the world, but the only reason they were there was to prop up the body count. Blood flows, smears, drips, explodes, squishes. Heads roll, get impaled, stomped on. Bodies pile up.
Halloween for a new generation
What brings this movie into the here and now is the styling. Halloween is given a clever modern flavour with a teenage party, great domestic settings, and the streets and yards of the suburban town.
But, Laurie and me, we’re getting old. I wanted more from this movie. I wanted more internal drama, more difficult choices, more psycho thrill terror. Less end-of-days survivalist gran and her cupboard of guns.
The man sitting next to me enjoyed it though. He groaned, jerked, gasped, put his hands over his eyes, squirmed and even shrieked a couple of times. Afterwards I heard him say to his friend in the warm light of the foyer, “That was good, hey?” I think he got what he wanted. Me, I was more grossed out than scared. I could have done with a bit more plot. But as famous B grade film critic Joe Bob Briggs says, too much plot would have gotten in the way of the story. I bet he loved this movie – it sure ticked his boxes of what makes a great horror. No plot to speak of, body count in the double figures, many, many pints of blood, a few heads that literally roll, and a flashback that included a random set of boobs.
What: Halloween
Where: Ster-Kinekor cinemas
Book: Ster-Kinekor
WS
